Firing mechanism for firearms



Oct. `3l, 1944. n. M. WILLIAMS FIRING MECHANISM FOR FIREARMS 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Ap'rl 2l, 1942 #fv/wears Patented Oef. 31, 1944UNITED STATES AT ENT .oFFicE FIRING.v MECHANISM FOR FREARM'S Davia M.Wiuiams, New' Haven, cnam; assigner` Y to Ygillestern*CartridgeCompa/ny,- New` Haven,-

` Coma.,l a corporation of Delaware Application prl 21, 1942, Serial39,8963

mi.y ia-e9) 3 Claims.

The present invention relates to' improvements in firearms and' relatesmore particularly to-` ini provements in firing-mechanisms forfirearms', i. e., mechanisms responsive to a trigger or the like andwhereby the firearm is discharged.

One of the objects of the present' invention'I is to provide a superior'ring-mec'hanisrn for firearms which combines ruggediiess and reliabilityof operation over long periods of'sev'ere' use with econo-my ofmanufacture;

Another object of the preseritinvention is to provide a Superiorfiring-mechanism- Whi'ch' infcludes a hammer arid han'imer-springvnie'ansfso constructed andf arranged with respect t'o each other as toprovide both compactness and?y maxi- Inu-rn energy toLdri-ve afiring-pin or its equivalent.

A further G-ject ofy the present invention is to provide aiirivngemeehanism wherein a superior construction and arrangement ofhammer and hammer-spring meansis provided tomiriimi'ze'tli'espace-requirements for' its accommodation in a direction lengthwise ofthe firearm and without sacrificing effectiveness of operation.

Still another object of thepresentlnvent'on is toprovide a firearmhaving a superior' construction and* arrangement of hammer" and'hammer-'- spring means whereby the said hammer-spring'. means may bereadily installed ntol and removed from `the rearm-strueture.

With the" above and' other objects in View; as will appear to thoseskilled the art* from the present disclosure, this inventionr includesall? features inl the said disclosure which are novel2 over the priorart. and which are not claimed in any separate application.

In the accompanying drawings; which certain modes of carrying. out thepresent invention are shown for` iilustra'tivef purposes z Fig. 1 isabrokenbview of the central poi-tion of one form of firearm embodyingthe present invention, the structureV being shown' partly sideeleva-tion andpartly in vertical Central-lcngiltildinal section, withthe l'iammer` shown: in"E its released or ring position;

Fig..2 is abrokenivew ofitherear portion'A of the triggerplateunitpartly in s'icl'eI elevation and partly in vertical'central-longitudinal sectionbut on a larger scale thaniFig. 1 and withthe hammer' shown in its normal cocked position;

Fig. 3 is a broken sectional view taken on. the line 3--3 of Fig. 2

, Fig. 4. is a broken view in side elevationfsimilar to Fig. 2. butshowing the lower end of the hammer-spring. means in process oibeingpushed into its fully-installed position;

Fig. 5' is atop or pianviewv of the structure of. Fig. 4';`.

Fig. c is a maken view" thereof in rear eievatoa;

Fig; is a perspective view' of the upper spring:- guiding meistert' Fig.8 i's a similar viefvifof thet lower spifngf guiding member; `and Fig".a is underside view of tile hamer..

TheV particu en* stearmestrircture Herein chosen for puip'oses oiiil-stratingr one fori-iil of the pres-f ent inventionincludes, themain,l a r'ee'averL unit For, a tri-gg'elfeoiate unit $11,. a barretliz, a stock-.lia aridi drawer-cover r4., The parte lo, H and |72 arepreferably' formed? of .high-grade steel, While the parts l31 arid' Mare# preferably formed -of Wood. or other:` suitable' heat-insulatingand constitutingf'af ram'e or mount for the tiring mechanism to beflater described.

The receiver-unit Hly is formed withY a; longitddinal: bolt-receivingehamlaer |51 in is adapted to reciprocate* a` loreech=bolt 6 or anysuitable type. IIIhe' receiver-unit I-- is formed in its forward portionWthanx ejectionmpening l'l leading upwardlyf from the' bolt-receivingchamber lr5v and through which` eartr-idge-cases may lee ejectedinanysuitablemanner. Y Also adjacent its forward end,i tl-ieunder portionvof the receiverunit lfll is formed-With a vertical magazine-receivingpassage 1:8Y leadingudownwazfdly tromthefor-A ward portion of theboltrecevingl chamber l5 through to-theunderfaee ofthe-saidLreeiver-unit and into wcnmnun-ication Avv'i'tla verticalmagazine-receiving passage l-S'in the trigger-plate unitll..v A.

Removably buti'gdlyfmountedjn the' rear portion dithe holtereceivi'ngchamber` lf5` in the receiver-unit I0 is a receiverl-plug ,20 having. aforwardly-opening r'ecess 2`l therein, .si'z'ed and shaped toaccommodate the rear portion of the breech-bolt [6' when the sameismoved rearwardly into its reti-red position. In its underside, thereceiver-plug 20 'is formed a clearance-cut 2'2 connecting.` theforwardly-opening. recess il in the said receiver-plugill-Withavertical. longitudinal clearance-passagfeV i3 formed in theunder rear portion` of the eceilverfunit IO` and separated' from themagazine-receiving 4passage IB, -by a transverse web 24 forming anintegral part of the receiver-unit l and located about midway the lengththereof.

Extending transversely across the trigger-plate unit Il about midway thelength thereof is a hammer-pin 25 supported at each of its respectiveopposite ends in the complemental side-walls 26-26 of the rear portionofthe trigger-plate unit Il. yAs thus supported, the hammer-pin 25 spans avVertical vlongitudinal recess21 located between the side-walls 26-26and designed and adapted for the reception and clearance of certainfeatures of the firing-mechanism, as will more fully hereinafter appear.

Pivotally mounted at itsvlower end upon the central portionof thehammer-pin 25 above referred to is a hammer generally designated byV thereference character 28 and having its lower portion accommodated in the.recess 21 in the trigger-plate unit downwardly-curved. arcuate arm 29'formed `respectively at the front and rear portions of its terminalend-withupwardly-facing cooking-abutments 30 and 3|. When the hammer 23is in its normal cocked position as shown in Fig. 2, the

At its upper or outer end, the hammer 28 is formed with arearwardly-andfront cockihg-abutment of its arcuate arm 29 is engagedbyv a downwardly-facing cookingabutment 32 formed upon the upper portionof a sear-arm 33 which is formed integral with and upstands from atrigger 34. The said trigger 34 is pivotally mounted in the recess 21 inthe lower rear portion of the trigger-plate unit I `by means of atrigger-pin 35 supported at its respective opposite ends in theside-walls 26-26 of the said trigger-plate unit. 'The trigger 34includes a depending linger-piece 36 which is normally protected by aloop-like trigger-guard 31 forming a rigid feature of the lower rearportion of the trigger-plate u'nitfl I.

The trigger-pin '35 also pivotally mounts a secondary sear 38y which haspivotal movement re1- ative to the trigger'34 and the scar-arm 33thereof.' The said secondary sear 38 forms no essential feature of thepresent invention and there- (Fig. 2) thrusting at its upperend aaginsta portionof the said secondary scar 38 and thrusting at its lower endagainst the trigger 34.

The entire trigger 34, and the parts carriedV thereby, is yieldinglyvmaintained at the limit of its counterclockwise turning movement uponthe trigger-pin 35, by means of a helical triggerspring 4| thrustingupwardly atv its upper end against a portion of the trigger 34 at apoint forwardly of the said trigger-pin 35and resting at itsv lower endagainst an adjacent portion of the trigger-plate unit The hammer 28 isurged to swing in a clockwise direction to strike the rear end of afiring-plunger 42 by means of a helical ringspring 43. tions of an upperspring-guiding member 44 and a lower spring-guiding member 45.

l The upper spring-guiding member 44 above The said :tiring-springencircles porreferred to includes a relatively longcylindrically-contoured stem 46 projecting downwardly from acylindrically-contoured integral collar 41. Above the collar 41 themember 44 is formed with an annular coupling-groove 48 receiving thecontracted upper convolution of the firing-spring 43, as is especiallywell shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Immediately above the coupling-groove 48,the member 44.is .provided with a ange-like springseat 49 against whichthe upper end of the ring-spring 43 thrusts. At its extreme upper end,the said member 44 isA formed with a sphericallycontoured head 50normally seated in a downwardly-opening shallow pocket 5| formed in theunder face of the arcuate arm 29 of the hammer 28. l f

' The stem 46 of the upper spring-guiding membery 44 telescopicallyinterts withina passage W52 extending axially from top to bottom throughthe lower or complemental spring-guiding member 45. The spring-guidingmember 45 is formed at its lower end with a rectangular lblock-like head53`formed with an upwardly-opening ringshaped annular recess 54 from thebottom of which rises a relatively thin-walled tubular stem 55. It ismainly within the stem 55 that the passage; 52 before referred to isformed and in which latter the rod-like stem 46 of the upperspring-guiding member 44 reciprocates. The extreme lower portion of thehelical iiring-spring 43 extends into the ring-like annular recess 54 inthe lower spring-guiding member 45 and is guided in its compression andextension movement by the exterior surface of the tubular stem 55, aswell asby the collar 41 of the upper springguiding member 44. y

On each of its respective opposite side faces, the head 53 .of thelower. spring-guiding member 45 is formed with one of twocylindrically-contoured integral trunnions 56-56 each axially Aalignedwith the other and each-having a recessed outer face to aord an antislipsurface for being gripped by the fingers `for purposes as willhereinafter appear. e l

- The lower portion of the block-shapedhead 53 `of the lowerspring-guiding member 45 ts into the recess 21 between the respectiveopposite side walls 26--26 of the trigger-plate unit as is especiallywell shown in Fig. 3. of the respective trunnions56-56 of the saidmember 45 is normally` seated in one of two cylindrically-contouredseats ror lbearings 51-51, one o-f which latter is formed in each of theside walls v2li-,26 of the trigger-plate unit Il; The said seats 51--51are located beneath the downwardly-opening pocket 5| in the hammer 28when the saidhammer is in its firing position, as shown in Fig. 1. Thesaid seats 51-51 open upwardly and slightly rearwardly and the uppersurface of the given side wall 26 leading lreary wardly from a given oneof the said seats, is

sloped lrearwardly and downwardly to provide one of two ramps 58.-58 forpurposes as will hereinafter appear.

Should itA be desired'to remove the unit cornprising the firing-spring43 and 4spring-guiding members 44 and 45, the trunnions 56-56 of thelower spring-guiding member 45 may be grasped between the thumb andforenger and Vpulled rearwardly out of their complemental seats 5151 andallowed to slide down the complemental ramps 58-58 until thespherically-contoured head 50 of the upper spring-guiding member 44 isentirely freed from the pocket 5| in the hammer 28, whereupon'the entireunit comprisacetate ing the, parts 43; M and t5 may be completelyretrieved from theY rearm-structure after the trigger 34: and the partscarried therebyv have been previously" dismounted from the triggerplateunit Il.

To reinstall the. firing-spring i3, together with its complementarimembersJ 44 and 45, all that is required is that the parts tofbepositioned' as indicated` in Fig. 4, whereupon pressure exertedforwardly upon the head 53tl will cause the trunnions 56--56 to travelup their respective ramps B1- 58 againstv the tension of thefiring-spring 43 until such time as the said trunnions come intoregistry with their respective seats 51--51, whereupon the tension ofthe said firing-spring t 43 will assert itself and firmly Vseat; theSaid trunnions in place.

It will be noted by reference to the drawings that the lower end of thefiring-spring 43 is forwardly of both the cooking-abutment 3D of thehammer and the cooking-abutment 32 of the scar-arm 33, so that the saidfiring-spring thrusts in a direction substantially parallel with thebody-portion of the hammer 28 in all positions of the latterintermediate its cocked position and its firing position.

By the construction and arrangement of parts shown and described, notonly is the assembly and disassembly ofthe firing-spring rendered morerapid and convenient, but an adequate spring may be employed which doesnot require its extension rearwardly beyond the sear in order to effectthe eicient operation of the said hammer.

The invention may be carried out in other specific ways than thoseherein set forth without departing from the spirit and essentialcharacteristics of the invention, and the present embodiments are,therefore, to be considered in al1 respects as illustrative and notrestrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalencyrange of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.

I claim:

1. A firearm-structure including in combination: a rearm-frame formedwith an upwardlyopening bearing-seat for the reception of pivotmeans; aswinging hammer mounted in the said frame and having a cooking-abutment;first pivot-means pivotally supporting the said hammer in the saidfirearm-frame; a sear supported in the said firearm-frame and having acookingabutment releasably engageable with the cocking-abutment of thesaid hammer for releasably holding the latter in its cocked position;pivotal spring-guiding means extending substantially vertically of thesaid firearm-frame and comprising an upper member and a lower membertelescopically intertting together, the said lower member being providedwith transversely-extending pivot-means removably resting in theupwardly-opening bearing-seat in the said frame at a pointlongitudinally intermediate the said first pivot-means and thecooking-abutment of the said sear, the said lower member also having anupwardly-opening substantially-annular spring-receiving recess having abottom wall located below the upper surface of the pivot-means of thesaid lower member; and a ring-spring associated with the saidspring-guiding means for being guided thereby and thrusting the uppermember thereof against the said hammer and thrusting downwardly againstthe bottom of the recess in the lower member of the said springguidingmeans to coincidentally yieldingly urge the saidswinging hammer into itsringpesition and to urge the pivot-means ofi the said lower member linto the bearing-seat of thsaid frame. l

2. A firearm-structure including in combination: a receiver; atrigger-plate unit located'ad- `iacent. and removably organized with'the said receiver and having two laterally spaced-apart side-Wallsproviding a recess therebetween and each of the said side-walls beingprovided in its upper edge with one of two notch-like upwardlyopeningbearing-seats for the reception of trunnions, the upper edges of thesaid side-walls leading rearwardly from the rear of the saidbearing-seats; a swinging hammer mounted inV the said trigger-plate unitand extending upwardly into the said receiver unit, the said hammerhaving a cooking-abutment; rst pivotmeans pivotally supporting the saidhammer in the said trigger-plate unit and located forwardly of thebearing-seats in the side-walls of the latter; a sear supported in thesaid trigger-plate unit and having a cooking-abutment located rear-Wardly of the bearing-seats in the side-walls of the trigger-plate unitand releasably engageable with the cooking-abutment of the said hammerfor releasably holding the latter in its cocked position; pivotalspring-guiding means extending substantially vertically with respect tothe 1ongitudinal axis of the said receiver and comprising an uppermember having a portion seated against an under-portion of the saidhammer and also comprising a lower member telescopically intertting withthe said upper member and extending into the recess in the saidtriggerplate unit, the said lower member being provided on each of itsrespective opposite sides with one of two trunnions each of whichremovably rests in one of the two upwardly-opening bearing-seats in therespective upper edges of the respective side walls of the saidtrigger-plate unit at a point longitudinally-intermediate the said firstpivot-means and the cooking-abutment of the said seargand afiring-spring associated with the said spring-guiding means for beingguided thereby and thrusting the upper member thereof upwardly againstan under-portion of the said hammer and thrusting downwardly against thelower member of the said spring-guiding means to urge the two trunnionsthereof into the two bearing-seats respectively in the respective upperedges of the said trigger-plate unit; the rear-Wall of each of thebearing-seats in the respective side-walls of the trigger-plate unithaving a depth materially less than one-half of the diameter of thetrunnion seated therein to enable the said trunnions to be cammedrearwardly and upwardly out of the said bearing-seats and onto therearwardly-'extending portions of the upper edges of the said side-wallsfor removal from the structure.

3. A firearm-structure including in combination: a receiver; atrigger-plate unit located adjacent and organized with the saidreceiver, the said trigger-plate unit having two laterally spaced-apartside-walls providing a recess therebetween, and each of the side-wallsof the said firearm-frame being provided in its upper edge with one oftwo upwardly-opening notch-like bearing-seats for the reception of oneof two trunnions, each of the side-walls of the said trigger-plate unitbeing provided on its upper edge with a ramp-surface leading rearwardlyfrom one of the two said notch-like bearing-seats; a swinging hammermounted in the said trigger-plate unit and having a cooking-abutment;pivotmeans pivotally supporting the said hammer in the saidtrigger-plate unit; a sear supported in of its respective oppositeAsides with one of ftwo trunnions each removably resting in one oftheupwardly-opening bearing-seats inthe said .trigger-plate unit; and aring-spring associated1v with the said spring-guiding means for beingguided `thereby and thrusting upwardly againstl the said hammer andthrustingdownwardly 'against the vsaid spring-guiding means toyieldin-gly urge theV same toward the ramp-surfaces and `the bearing,-

seats of the respective upper edges of the said trigger-plate unit. f y

DAVID M; WILLIAMS.

